Brave
The bear growled deeply, and bared its fangs. Sharp, white teeth glinted in the sunlight. The animal lunged forward, roaring savagely as it raised its paw, readying itself to strike full-on with long, knife-like claws. Fluttershy only stared.
"NO! FLUTTERSHY!" Discord cried, red-and-yellow eyes wide with horror. He quickly snapped his fingers, enclosing the creature in a see-through barrier. The bear's blow struck the barrier instead of the intended target, causing the shield to ripple like a stone hitting water.
Fluttershy blinked, then looked back at Discord. "Why did you do that?" she asked the draconequus innocently.
Discord stood there for a moment, his mouth agape.
"WHY DID I DO THAT?!" he shouted suddenly. "Like I'd actually just watch you get torn apart by that...beast!"
Fluttershy frowned. "Harry wasn't going to...'tear me apart'." she replied defensively, looking back at the bear. It now looked rather sad, and was giving Fluttershy a pouty look.
"I was just going to clean the wound that he got on his nose. He got too close to an angry mommy kitty-cat and now he needs some help." the pegasus said softly, gesturing toward the animal with a butter yellow hoof. Indeed, three long, angry red scrapes ran down it's nose.
Discord crossed his arms, grunting stubbornly. "Hmph! Yeah, right. I saw it with my own two eyes, Fluttershy--" at this, he took out his eyes and gestured them towards the bear, before placing them back where they belonged. "That bear was going to seriously injure you--AT THE LEAST! Why in the wide wide world of Equestria are you so calm?!"
Fluttershy looked at her friend for a long time, before smiling softly. "Because I'm not scared. I've dealt with animals for most of my life; it's my calling, and the reason for my cutie mark; for my destiny. Why would I be afraid of that? Even if I was killed in the midst of caretaking, I suppose that it would be my destiny."
She cocked her head, looking nervously at the imprisoned creature. "And, um...could you please let Harry out? He doesn't like it in there..."
Discord was quiet. His gaze drifted again to the bear. It had gotten slightly annoyed at being confined, and was clawing at the prison.
"You're...a lot braver than you get credit for, Flutters," he said finally. "Any other pony would've ran away and hid before I could snap my fingers once--twice, tops."
He decidedly withheld the fact that he was an expert on how much ponies could take before running away screaming.
"Oh, no, I'm not brave at all," Fluttershy replied quickly, her blue eyes widening. "Rainbow Dash is a lot braver than I am! So are Applejack, and Twilight...and, really, all of my friends. Rarity and Pinkie Pie wouldn't back down from fear, either, even if they're not quite as well known for their bravery. Me, um, well...I'm a scaredy-cat."
"I don't know any 'scaredy-cat' who can look at a snarling, bloodthirsty bear face-on. Let alone with a straight face."
The pegasus frowned. "Dissy, I told you; Harry isn't bloodthirsty. He just needs a little help. He's my friend." she replied. "Please, let him out...if you don't mind."
Discord's eyelid twitched as he raised his paw. "Are...are you sure, Fluttershy?" he asked cautiously.
The pegasus nodded. "Positively."
She had no trace of doubt in her voice whatsoever. Discord looked at her for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to listen to her and let the beast out. It would definitely make her unhappy if he didn't, but there was a startlingly large chance that the bear could tear his dear, dear friend apart.
He looked straight into her large, teal eyes. They were calm, and expectant. Also innocent. And so, so much more.
And...looking into her eyes, he knew that he could trust her, no matter what. If she said that she could handle this bear, well, then...she could handle this bear. Trust was part of friendship, wasn't it?
The draconequus gulped, and quickly snapped his fingers before he could change his mind.
As the barrier dissolved, Discord's stomach tied knots within himself. His paw was shaking slightly, and he had half a mind to reconstruct the barrier...but, no...he had to trust Fluttershy...
Fluttershy smiled at him. Her smile was beautiful, and gentle. "Thank you, Dissy." She decided to ignore the fact that there was a noticeable knot tied in Discord's midsection.
Then she turned back to her bear friend, and slowly raised a hoof toward him. "Don't worry, Harry...I'm here to help you..." she whispered soothingly. "Don't be afraid, alright? You know that you can trust me..."
The bear was beginning to calm down. He let Fluttershy put her hoof on his shoulder, and stayed still, watching her as she gently rubbed his fur. "Good boy."
After a few minutes, the bear looked a great deal more calm. It's eyes were even beginning to droop closed, and it looked sleepy. Fluttershy chuckled softly and withdrew her hoof. Then she reached down beside her, and grabbed a first aid kit of which Discord was surprised he hadn't noticed before.
She opened it, and pulled out a tube of ointment, then turned back to her large patient. "Thith myght sthing a wittle, otay?" she warned the bear, her voice muffled by holding the ointment tube between her teeth. "Juhst truhst me."
The bear gave a slightly nervous look as the pegasus squirted some ointment onto her hoof, then reached forward, and began to spread the ointment over the scrape. "Thith is tho your boo-boo won ghet inthetched."
The bear still looked uneasy, and was grimacing a little from the stinging, but stayed still as she finished applying the ointment. After the pegasus was done, she withdrew, and turned back to the first aid kid, spitting the tube of ointment back into the box. Then she reached down again, pulling out a rather large, bear-sized adhesive bandage.
She grinned, and flapped forward with a soft flutter of her wings, plastering the bandage on the bear's nose. "There. All better." she cooed, and rubbed his shoulder again. "You were such a brave boy. Yes, yes you were..."
The bear gave a rather toothy sort of grin in reply, and made some sort of noise which Discord could only assume meant that it was happy.
"Stay safe now, and be careful of cats. Especially mother ones." Fluttershy warned, pulling back her hoof and giving the bear a stern expression. "You know I don't mind helping you, but I'd just hate to see you get hurt again."
The bear pricked it's ears, and nodded. Then he got up onto his feet, and waved his paw, smiling.
"I hope you have a nice day, too, Harry." Fluttershy replied happily. "Tell your wife that I said 'hello', okay?"
The bear nodded again, and began walking away.
Fluttershy sighed contentedly as she watched the bear disappear into a thicket; leaving to return back to his home in the Everfree.
"You were...you were right, Fluttershy..." Discord admitted softly, a slightly sheepish tone in his voice. "I'm quite sorry I doubted you."
"Oh, that's okay." Fluttershy replied. "I know you were only looking out for my best interest, and I really appreciate that. You can be really sweet, Dissy."
Discord felt his face grow hot at being called 'really sweet' (and 'Dissy'). He turned away so that Fluttershy wouldn't see the redness in his cheeks. "Oh, erm, well...I'm just a sweet little bowl of sugar, aren't I?" he replied, and snapped his fingers, transforming into a bowl of sugar to prove his point.
Fluttershy only blinked, and watched, as with another flash of white light, the draconequus transformed back into his admittedly un-normal self.
At first the transformations and such had startled her, but now she barely batted an eyelash at them. She'd gotten used to Discord's little quirks. She even found them endearing.
There was an awkward moment of silence.
Discord broke the silence, clearing his throat. He hated silence, especially awkward silence. It reminded him too much of his unhappy, imprisoned millennia of unbreakable silence. He blinked, and decided to ask her something that had been on his mind.
"Why aren't you afraid of me, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy gave him a surprised look, her blue eyes widening and pupils shrinking. He stopped for a moment, then continued on.
"I've...I've got teeth sharper than knives! Really!" Discord cried, and snapped his fingers. An x-ray of his jaw appeared, floating, in the air with every sharp tooth clearly visible (and oddly in the shape of knives). Then he snapped it away, giving the pegasus a curious look.
"I should be a great deal more frightening than that teddy bear. Ponies are usually a lot more frightened of me than wild animals. Why don't...why don't I scare you?"
Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow at him, and Discord added quickly, "But it's not like I want you to be scared of me. Not nearly, my dear! But I was just...curious...is all."
"Well, um, you're my best friend!" Fluttershy replied, a smile tugging at her lips. "I trust you, Discord. I know you'd never, ever hurt me like...like that."
Discord suddenly felt an ominous, large sort of guilt gnaw at his heart at her 'like that', though he knew that she probably didn't mean what he had gleaned from it. She must have seen the slight frown on his face, as she quickly added, "You're reformed now, and everything. You'd never hurt me at all! Why should I be afraid of you?"
Discord raised an eyebrow. "But, what about before I was reformed? Weren't you afraid of me then? I don't recall ever seeing you afraid during my reformation, and when Celestia asked you to reform me. If you're truly a scaredy-cat, then why is it that you weren't afraid?"
Fluttershy felt her face grow hot, and she looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable as her thoughts focused to when Discord wasn't reformed. It was a place she didn't let her mind linger, and she didn't like to think about it much. "We-ell, um...um..."
Discord frowned at her obvious discomfort, and felt bad for bringing up the subject. "Uhm, sorry. Just forget that. Forget it, okay?" he said quickly, and went down on all fours, walking up beside her and curling his tail around her. "Don't think about that, really."
Fluttershy shook off the bad thoughts, and looked up into her friend's eyes. She smiled, and sighed a little, rubbing her muzzle against his furry brown chest. "Um, okay. Besides, you're reformed now, and that's all that matters, right?" she replied. "Like I said, you're my best friend, and I love you a lot."
Discord blushed again. "Oh, well, um...thanks." he murmered. "I...I-I suppose that I-I..." he struggled to get the words out. "L-love...l-love you too, Flutters."
Fluttershy chuckled, and Discord spread his pegasus wing, wrapping it around her as his blush fiercened.
"What I was trying to get to, in a roundabout way, was..." Discord said suddenly, pausing before continuing, "I, myself, think that you are among the bravest ponies who have ever lived. And I've lived a pretty long time, so I'd know. I've seen lots and lots of 'brave', and truly brave ponies in my time."
Fluttershy was quiet.
"Stop not taking yourself seriously. You are brave, Fluttershy. You're a lot braver than you know you are," Discord said, and looked down, looking into the pegasus's wide teal eyes. "It doesn't make you any less brave if you have fear, because all ponies do. All ponies have fear. But...you..."
Discord smiled, and said quietly, "You feel the fear. You know the fear. But still, you overcome the fear. And that's..."
"That's what makes you brave, Fluttershy."
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! No coarse language, flaming and/or cursing in the comments, please. 
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That was soooooooo cute!!!
The d'awws... they're too powerful...
*struggles for breath against the d'awws*
How cute! Fluttershy's braver than people give credit for, so him acknowledging it was really nice.
Aww.
That. Was. ADORABLE
Great story! I love everything about it, especially the great detailed descriptions.
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Heehee, thank you! I'm so glad that you all enjoyed it and thought that it was cute.
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Thanks!
I strive to make sure I'm keeping everything detailed.
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Thank you! Yes, I thought that he would probably notice how brave she was at some point or another.
5880007 You're welcome!
Well, this was rather nice. I mostly loved the first half, Discord's worry over Fluttershy and putting his trust in her was great.
Awwww <3
Loved it c:
Also one part that seems to need a rewording, it didn't flow too well.
I read it as
But the original sentence seemed confusing. Mostly "withed", otherwise the intent was clear enough.
5879957 Also holy poops I liked how you color-coded your reply, it's pretty cool!
D'aww, that was so cute!
The fact that I was snuggling with my Fluttershy plushie made this even better.
its
>> lazyreader19
thanks! :) :)
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Oopsie! Sorry about those grammar derps, but thank you for pointing them out. I really need a proofreader. I'll try to fix the chapter when I can figure out how to edit it without deleting it x3 Still new to this interface of submitting stories/chapters.
Edit: Derps fixed!
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Thank you.
5880347 Oh wow, you're new here? This is great for a first story!
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Yes, well, I'm not exactly new here, per se, but I'm new to posting things here. I've been a lurker and a reader here for quite some time. But, thank you!
Now that's how you balance Fluttershy, doubt in the voice, evidence in the actions. A nicely done job!
Nice story! The characters seem perfect in terms of personality, and i laughed at the bowl of sugar part!
Yo why did you just kill me? Honestly, someday I won't be able to return from death-by-cuteness.
This is incredibly well written, especially how you portray Discord's unusually normal friendship with Fluttershy.
Bravo dear writer
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Thank you! I tried to put emphasis on getting their characterizations right.
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Ah, thank you so much
5882400 I meant every word. You made a usually unpredictable character seem more... I want to say "human" but... Anyways, point is, this is a story to be proud of
Congrats for getting on the popular list!
I loved it! It was quite well written and was very cute.
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Oh my! Brave is on the popular list?!
*explodes--metaphorically*
Thank you for alerting me!
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Thank you, I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
5883039 You're welcome! Such a good story deserves the Featued Box as well! I hope it gets there, seeing as it advanced to the popular list!
Truly, Fluttershy must be the bravest pony of them all. Real courage is being scared witless and moving on anyway. If I know Fluttershy, that's every second of everyday.
Fluttershy is just like Mrs Brisby from the The Secret of NIMH
Aw~This was such a wonderful story! I like how "Dissy" has kind of become Discord's nickname in many stories, and here it works great from Fluttershy. Their characterizations are done very well, and it's sweet how Discord tries to protect Fluttershy and insists she is courageous (which she is, really).
Nice.
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*nods in agreement*
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Haha, it's been a while since I've familiarized myself with that, but I do see a resemblance there.
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Thank you!
Hehe, yeah. I admittedly use the nickname 'Dissy' when referring to him outside of stories, anyway. 
Thanks, I'm glad that you think that they are characterized well. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. 
There are literally 69 likes right now, and I'm hesitant to change that...plus this is a Fluttercord fanfic.
Beautiful.
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You beat me to it. That was exactly what I was going to say.
Am I allowed to be utterly shippy gleeful? Because even if it says no romance, it is so easy to see this as a prelude to it.
Either way, great work here.
Bravery comes in many forms. Having strength. Showing strength. Being able to intimidate or outwit.
Bravery can also be...well, not being afraid. You've done an excellent job of really focusing that into this small gem. It's a well written bit that makes me wonder "Yeah, why don't we see Discord helping with Fluttershy's duties as animal caretaker? What's he like in polite, day to day activity, now that he's reformed?".
Nice story. I look forward to more.
5886649 Hah. Of course!
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Thank you! Yes, Discord's motivations and his past and my headcanons on how he acts in a more mundane setting are things I often think about.
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Yes, you are allowed to have shipping glee.
I personally don't ship them romantically, but I don't mind if you see this story as potentially romantic.
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Thank you
She knows Harry's only trying to imitate her: Praise the Sun!
Cats will mess you up no matter who you are, and it never feels right to fight back.
Some ponies run at him, screaming. <coughCelestiacough>
Couldn't Discord just snap-heal the wound?
Celestia called him both those names, often, once upon a time.
Seems legit.
She wasn't even scared of him in the maze. She was counter-trolling him like Deadpool would.
That was sweet.
No course language huh, well foop that shizznit.
Lol I thinks there's something wrong with me
Anywho I really enjoyed this tale. The characters were on point and fun. And the moral was great.
There is no bravery without fear Ms. Shy
Fluttershy was a hundred percent in character! It! Was! SO CUTE! XD
As for Discord, on one hand, I feel like this is something he would do; on the other, it seems a little overplayed. He was adorable, and I wanted to hug and squeeze him like jello! XD But, at the same time, he seemed a little weak. You almost made him sound like Fluttershy. Not that I mind this type of characterization of anyone, it's just that Discord was an itty, bitty bit OOC.
In any case, I LOVE IT! Not bad for a Fluttercord fic! Then again, I love Fluttercord, and its a tie with Twicord in second. THIS was just WONDERFUL TO READ! XDDDDD
OH MY CELESTIA IT'S SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FLUTTERCORD MUST BE CANNON OR I WILL DESTROY THE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Bashing other people's ships isn't very nice. I rather like Dislestia. We don't have to choose one or the other to be the best; we can appreciate and/or respect both ships, even if we don't ship one of them.
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I'm very glad that you enjoyed it!
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Thank you very much! I'm glad that you enjoyed my story. Yes, I know that my Discord can be a bit OOC. I tend to write him a lot 'fluffier' than in canon.
6100976 sorry, you're right. I just become a bit competitive sometimes.
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That's alright
:3 Hey there.
This a great story.
I really like it.
And Bluegrassbrooke also likes it.
I'm obsessed with Bluegrassbrooke.
I am also obsessed with Discord.
I am so happy I discovered your stories.
Write moar?
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Don't worry I'll save you from your evil doppelganger!
TOOOOOOOOO CUUUUTEEEEEE
She was at first. She shrieked and hid, I recall... That would be interesting to discuss... the guilt, the shame, the regret. Agony, I suppose.